Double Trouble

'Before I dismiss you all, on behalf of all of us here at the Ninety-Ninth Precinct, I would like to wish Detective Amy Santiago a wonderful maternity leave,' Holt announced and everyone clapped and cheered.

Amy slowly got up and made her way to the podium. 'Thank you all so much. You guys have been the best and I can't thank you all enough for being so supportive,' Amy said.

'Have you thought of a name?' Terry asked curiously.

'I have but I'm not gonna share it until after the baby's born.'

'Alright. Hey, Jake, what's the name of Amy's baby?' Rosa asked.

'I don't know,' Jake replied.

'It's true, I haven't told him either,' Amy confirmed.

'What?' Charles squealed. 'Not even the father?' he asked.

Jake noticed that Amy felt uneasy. 'Okay, that's it, no more pregnancy related questions,' he announced as he got up and helped his girlfriend back to her seat.

'Hey, can I ask you something?' Amy asked Jake once they were back at their respective desks in the bullpen.

'Yeah, sure,' Jake replied.

'So, listen, I'm gonna be on maternity leave from tomorrow till my son is three months old. Anyway, I could go into labor at any moment this week. It could be three in the morning or five in the afternoon or any other time really. My point is, do you mind sleeping over at my place every night until the baby's born? It's just that labor can be scary and I may need some help.'

'Ames, of course I'll stay with you. I mean, I've practically been living with you since your third semester.'

'Trimester.'

'What?'

'It's trimester, not semester.'

'Huh… trimester… No that sounds wrong.'

Amy rolled her eyes. 'So, you'll stay with me?' she asked.

'Yeah, of course.'

'Thank you. I love you.'

'I love you too.' They lovingly smiled at one another before returning to their work.

When Saturday rolled by, Jake and Amy were having breakfast at eight in the morning. 'Hey, Ames?' Jake called.

'Yeah?' she asked as she looked up from her porridge.

'Is the baby fine?'

'Yeah.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah, why?'

'It's just that you said that you could go into labor at any moment.'

'Yeah…?'

'But it's already Saturday.'

'Jake, I told you that yesterday. I said I could go into labor within a week.'

'Oh, right.'

'And don't worry, sometimes babies can be late.'

'What?'

'Well, not everything goes to plan and sometimes the baby doesn't come on the due date.'

'Is that normal?'

'Yes, it's nothing to worry about.'

'Okay. But aren't Santiagos supposed to be early?'

Amy laughed softly before replying, 'Jake, don't worry, I'm not late.'

'Okay, okay.' As they returned to their breakfast, Jake's phone started ringing. He answered it, 'Hello? Yeah, this is he… Oh, my God… Where? Thank you, I'll be there as soon as I can.'

Amy knew something was wrong. 'Jake, what's wrong?' she asked.

'My mom had a heart attack,' he answered as he got up.

'Oh, my God! Oh, I'm so sorry.'

'They've taken her to the hospital. They say she's made it through but I think I should go down.'

'You "think" you should go down?' Amy shouted. 'Jake, you obviously need to go down! She needs you there!' she shouted again.

'Yeah, but you could go into labor at any moment.'

'Yeah, but I haven't! Get your butt to the hospital now!'

'Amy, what if you do go into labor?'

'That should be the least of your concerns right now! I'll be fine.'

'But – '

'I'll call the squad if something happens, okay? Right now, you just need to be a good son.'

Jake opened his mouth to say something but the words didn't come out. 'Okay,' he said slowly. Amy gave him a peck and he rushed out the door.

Amy was taking a practice test for the sergeant's exam when she heard a knock on the door. She was surprised that Jake was back so soon. But when she answered the door, she was surprised to find the entire squad standing behind it.

'Hey, what're you guys doing here?' she asked them.

'Jake, told us that you were alone and he wanted us to look after you because you could go into labor at any moment,' Charles answered.

'Oh, my God, that's so sweet of him.'

'Yeah, now come on, Jake made us promise him we'd take care of you,' Rosa said as she pulled Amy by the hand back into the apartment and the others followed them.

The squad had decided to binge-watch Friends. Of course, Holt was opposed to the idea, but he was outnumbered by everyone else. They were watching the Season Six episode The One Where Ross Got High and they were watching the scene where Rachel served her abominable dessert.

'Santiago, please pause the television,' Holt ordered and everyone groaned. 'What?' he asked not knowing why they were upset.

'Sir, if you're just gonna give a another point as to why we shouldn't be watching Friends, you might as well walk away,' Gina informed him.

'No, I actually have a question regarding one of the scenes.'

'Oh,' Amy said as she paused the T.V. 'What's your question?' she asked.

'Why does Ross say the dessert tastes like feet?'

'Because it's horrendous.'

'I get that but how does he know it tastes like feet? Has he tasted feet before? How can he come up with that comparison?'

Gina sighed before replying, 'He just means that it tastes really bad.'

'However, he cannot make a comparison without knowing it.'

'It's just a show,' groaned Amy.

'Yes, but why not go for something more accurate?'

'Like what?' Terry asked.

'Well, if it were up to me, I would have said that it tasted like a pop tart.'

'Pop tarts aren't too bad.'

'Oh, please! If a foodstuff has a sound in the name, you just know it is the worst thing on earth.'

'Personally, I don't think Ross should be comparing the desert to feet either,' Charles chimed in.

'Why's that, Boyle?' Rosa asked.

'Rachel's dessert could never be as good as feet! I mean, have you ever tasted frog feet?'

'Oh, God…' Amy muttered.

'You could've said chicken legs, Charles,' Terry pointed out.

'Can I just say something?'

'No, wait, he addressed the question to me,' Charles said.

'But – '

'First of all, Ross said "feet", not "legs". Secondly, frog legs still taste better than chicken legs.'

'Guys?'

'Amy, you'll get your time to prove your point.'

'No, I – '

'What is so goddamn important?' Charles asked annoyed.

'My water just broke!' Amy screamed.

'Rosa? What's wrong?' Jake asked as he answered his phone.

'We're getting your girlfriend to the hospital,' Rosa informed him.

'What? Why? Is something wrong?'

'Nothing's wrong, she's just in labor right now.'

'What?' Jake asked in a high-pitched voice.

'Dude, she's gonna give birth to her baby.'

'Oh, my God! Is she having contractions?'

'Yeah.'

'How far apart are they?'

'I don't know that… Oh, looks like Amy wants to talk to you.'

'Okay.'

'Jake? How's your mom?' Amy asked as she tried to compose herself.

'Amy! She's fine. She's heavily drugged but she's fine. Listen, I'll be there as fast as I can but – '

'No! You stay with your mother!'

'What? Ames, you're giving birth now. Don't you need me there?'

'Not as much as your mom needs you!'

'But, Ames – '

'You stay with your mom and my son will stay with me. I'm not gonna change my mind.'

Jake sighed. 'Okay, take care,' he said slowly.

'Okay.'

'I love you.'

'AHHHHHHHHHHH!'

'Ames, is everything okay?' Jake asked concerned.

'Jake, she'll be fine. She's just having another contraction,' Rosa said as she took the phone.

'Okay. Just keep me updated, alright?'

'Boyle's already on it.'

Jake was beside his mom's bed, holding her hand softly. Here he was, beside his mom who just had a heart attack and in another hospital was his girlfriend giving birth to a baby boy. To say that he was nervous would be an understatement. He was friggin' losing it no matter how much he tried to calm himself down.

'Hey!' Roger said as he rushed into the room.

'Where the hell have you been?' Jake asked as he got up.

'London.'

'Oh, so you were partying in London while Mom was getting a heart attack?'

'What? No!'

'Then why were you in London?'

'I'm a pilot, Jake!'

'Still, who works on Saturdays?'

'Well, I'm sorry that people need to fly on weekends!'

Karen started stirring in bed and slowly opened her eyes. 'Jake? Roger?' she asked softly.

'Oh, my God! Mom!' Jake exclaimed as he walked back to the bed.

'How you feeling, sweetie?' Roger asked.

'I was enjoying the nap until – '

'Until what? Did you get some pains again?'

'No, until you two started fighting! What was all that about?'

'I was just telling Dad that he shouldn't be working on Saturdays and that he should instead be with you,' Jake said.

'Jake, he's a pilot. Sometimes he has to work.'

'Yeah, but he can opt not to.'

'Well, that's rich coming from you, who's missed fifteen Saturday dinners with me last year because of work!'

'What? You were keeping count?'

'Maybe, but the main point is that sometimes people have to work on weekends.'

'Yeah, okay,' Jake said defeated.

'Now, you know what to do.'

'Sorry, Mom.'

'Not to me!'

Jake turned to his Dad. 'Sorry, Dad,' he said through gritted teeth.

'It's okay,' Roger assured him with a pat on the back and Jake flinched.

'Good,' Karen said with a smile. 'So, how's Amy?' Karen asked.

'She's actually giving birth right now,' Jake said.

'Wait, what?' Karen asked surprised as she sat up straight.

'She's having her baby right now.'

'Jake, what are you doing here? You should be with Amy!'

'But you had a heart attack.'

'Yeah, but I'm not having one right now! Go, go be with Amy!'

'But, Mom – '

'I'll be fine. Roger's here now.'

'That's not really reassuring to me.'

'Well, it is to me so get out!' Karen screamed and Jake dashed out of the room.

Amy was on the hospital bed with a little bundle of joy sleeping in her arms. She was sure she had never smiled this wide and this long before. This little boy was her entire world right now. And she knew that she'd do anything and everything for him. It amazed her that someone so small occupied such a large place in her heart.

The door slowly opened and the squad (minus Jake) entered the room with large smiles on their faces. 'How's mommy and baby doing?' asked Rosa.

'We're good. He's sleeping right now but I think he's happy,' Amy replied.

'Are you kidding? Of course he's happy!' Terry said.

Amy continued smiling and adoring her baby boy. But then she looked up from him for the first time in a long time. 'I just want to thank you all for all you did,' she told them.

'Hey, the Nine-Nine is family. You don't need to thank us all the time for being there.'

'Thanks, Sarge.

'Yeah, but F.Y.I. you made my knuckles blue when you grabbed my hand while giving birth,' Gina said.

'Oh, right, sorry about that. But, hopefully, you won't need to be beside me if I'm in labor again.'

'Wait, your knuckles turned blue?' Rosa asked Gina.

'Yeah,' replied Rosa as she showed it to her.

'Huh… Amy was holding my hand too and I didn't feel anything.'

'How?' asked Gina and Amy amazed. Before Rosa could answer, there was a soft knock on the door as it opened.

'Hey,' Jake said softly as he entered.

'Hey,' Amy said softly with a smile, happy to see her boyfriend.

'We will leave you two alone,' Holt said as they left Jake and Amy alone in the room with the baby.

'How's your mom?' Amy asked once everyone was out.

'Oh, she's fine now,' Jake said as he walked over to her on the bed. 'Yeah, she woke up and she kinda ordered me to come here,' he half-joked and Amy laughed softly.

'Come on, you'll fit in here,' Amy said as she shifted a bit so that Jake could sit next to her.

'I'm sorry I couldn't be here.'

'Hey, it's okay. You had to be with your mom. Plus, you're here now. That's all that matters.'

Jake smiled softly as he tucked a loose strand behind her ear. 'I love you,' he said.

'I love you too,' she said and the shared a soft, tender kiss.

'So, this is mini-Ames, huh?' Jake said as he admired the boy sleeping in his mother's arms.

'Not "mini-Ames". His name's Harry,' Amy said as she looked down to her son.

'Harry? Just like in Harry Potter?'

'Yeah. Oh, looks like he's waking up. Well, it's a good thing you're gonna be the first one to introduce yourself to him.'

'Wasn't the squad her before I came?'

'Yeah, but Harry was sleeping.'

'Wow, Ames, he looks just like you!' Jake remarked once the infant opened his eyes.

Amy smiled at how adorable Jake was right now. 'Harry, there's someone I want you to meet,' she said to her son as she transferred him to her boyfriend.

'Hey, Harry,' Jake said as he safely held the baby in his arms, 'I'm Jake.'

'Jake, he's a baby, he's not gonna know you on a first name basis.'

'Right. Hi, I'm Jake Peralta.'

'Come on, you can do better than that.'

'Your mommy's boyfriend?'

'Okay, one last try.'

'Stepfather?'

Amy sighed and rolled her eyes. 'That was by far the worst,' she told Jake and he just looked down awkwardly. She softly brushed her thumb against the baby's cheek as she spoke, 'Harry, this person who's holding you right now is the sweetest, most loving, and funniest person in the world. He loves me so much and he loves you so much too. And he'll never leave your side because he is just the greatest. He's Daddy. And Daddy will do anything and everything he can to make you happy, alright? So, learn to love him a lot.' She looked up to see Jake letting a few tears roll down his cheek. 'Oh, Jake, I didn't mean to make you feel overwhelmed,' Amy apologized.

'No, it's fine. I'm just happy that I'm his… Daddy.'

Amy smiled too. And as she got closer to him, she could feel two heartbeats – Jake's and Harry's. At that moment, she knew that she would always love her two favorite people in the world.

And they also loved her for evermore.